A combination of routine blood analytes predicts fitness decrement in elderly endurance athletes

PLoS One. 2017 May 5;12(5):e0177174. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177174. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Endurance sports are enjoying greater popularity, particularly among new target groups such as the elderly. Predictors of future physical capacities providing a basis for training adaptations are in high demand. We therefore aimed to estimate the future physical performance of elderly marathoners (runners/bicyclists) using a set of easily accessible standard laboratory parameters. To this end, 47 elderly marathon athletes underwent physical examinations including bicycle ergometry and a blood draw at baseline and after a three-year follow-up period. In order to compile a statistical model containing baseline laboratory results allowing prediction of follow-up ergometry performance, the cohort was subgrouped into a model training (n = 25) and a test sample (n = 22). The model containing significant predictors in univariate analysis (alanine aminotransferase, urea, folic acid, myeloperoxidase and total cholesterol) presented with high statistical significance and excellent goodness of fit (R2 = 0.789, ROC-AUC = 0.951±0.050) in the model training sample and was validated in the test sample (ROC-AUC = 0.786±0.098). Our results suggest that standard laboratory parameters could be particularly useful for predicting future physical capacity in elderly marathoners. It hence merits further research whether these conclusions can be translated to other disciplines or age groups.

Publication types

  • Observational Study

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Alanine Transaminase / blood*
  • Athletes*
  • Bicycling / physiology
  • Cholesterol / blood*
  • Female
  • Folic Acid / blood*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Peroxidase / blood*
  • Physical Endurance / physiology
  • Physical Fitness / physiology*
  • Prospective Studies
  • Running / physiology
  • Urea / blood*

Substances

  • Urea
  • Folic Acid
  • Cholesterol
  • Peroxidase
  • Alanine Transaminase

Grants and funding

This trial was supported by the Anniversary Fund of the Austrian National Bank (No. 14511, No. 12979), https://www.oenb.at/en/About-Us/Research-Promotion/The-OeNBAnniversary-Fund.html. Moreover, authors EP and GE are currently affiliated with commercial companies. However, neither these companies nor the funder (Austrian National Bank), who inter alia provided support in the form of salaries for authors (EP, DB), did have any role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.